The former professional Starcraft player Ma Jae-yoon -- who was permanently banned from South Korean gaming circles for taking part in match-fixing -- came under a firestorm of criticism from local gaming fans Monday after he won a Starcraft tournament in China.

According to local news outlets, Ma participated in the gaming event held by China’s online broadcaster SCNTV on Sunday. Ma teamed up with a Chinese player to win the event and receive 150,000 yuan ($24,610) in prize money.

Local fans took issue with Ma, who had been convicted of match-fixing, being allowed to take part in gaming events.

“I don’t understand. How can a player who was banned for life for match-fixing participate in an another event, albeit in another country,” said one netizen.

“Please stop ‘Ma-cheat’ from making money by playing games,” said another.

In April 2010, Ma was embroiled in a match-rigging scandal which involved several Korean professional gamers and illegal betting websites. He was accused of deliberately losing a number of matches.

In light of the scandal, the Korea e-Sports Association had revoked all his awards and records and declared him permanently ineligible from taking part in the country’s e-sports.

In October 2010, the court sentenced him to eight months in jail, suspended for two years, for the charges.